The present invention relates to floriculture and, more particularly, this invention relates to a device for restraining a flower bud from opening until after the flower bud is cut from the plant.
Flower sales in the United States and throughout the world is a multibillion dollar industry. A large segment of the sales are of cut flowers which are sold individually or in bunches for display and enjoyment in homes, offices, churches, funerals, restaurants and at catering establishments for events such as weddings, anniversaries, etc.
Flowers are grown in large farms or hot houses. When ready for the market, the head of the plant and a portion of the stem is cut. The flowers are bundled and sold to wholesalers and retailers such as flower shops. Flowers with larger heads bring a higher price at wholesale and retail. Though the grower tries to consistently produce flowers with large heads, due to differences in feed, exposure and individual genetics, commercially grown flowers blossom randomly over relatively long periods of time. A grower can harvest a field at one time, hopefully when the plants are in the best commercial condition. The cut flowers must be sorted by size of bud before distribution. Occasionally, picking crews must pick the same crop several times as the buds mature in order to harvest all the flowers in the field or hot house.
Some plants will not be marketable. With roses, the ideal or best time to harvest the flower is when the rose bud has grown to the largest size possible without substantial opening of the petals. However, the tighter the petals, the longer the plant will last after cutting. If a rose stem is cut too soon, the size of the rose head will be small and the rose will bring a lower price. If the rose plant is very underdeveloped, the petals will be very tight and the rose will not open. If the plant is cut too long after the ideal time, the petals will already be open and the flower will have a shorter life.
The need to prevent premature opening of a flower bud such as a rose bud prior to harvest, has been recognized. One popular method of preventing some types of flowers from blooming prematurely is to install a soft, net-like, elastic sleeve over the group of preflowering buds and to remove the sleeves after cutting the flower, thereby causing the buds to attain larger size and flower closer together in time. The net expands as the bud grows but does prevent the bud from opening prior to cutting the stem from the plant. The open netting allows light to reach the outer petals of the bud but the constriction provided by the sleeve prevents light and heat from reaching the inner petals of the bud. Lower temperature reduces the respiration rate and absence of light slows growth. The result is a stronger, healthier larger bud. The netting can remain on the bud during distribution, which further prolongs shelf life and protects the petals from abrasion forces.
However, the only known method of installing the sleeve on a bud is by hand labor. The soft net collapses and is difficult to manipulate, to open and insert a bud. Since a commercial greenhouse can grow millions of buds simultaneously, the installation of the sleeves is time consuming and expensive. Savings in time, labor and costs would be substantial if the installation of the sleeves could be automated. However, the sleeves are soft and collapsible making it difficult to expand, place over a bud and release the expanded net by a mechanized feeder. Furthermore, the apertures allow the thin net to readily engage any protrusion on a feeding apparatus. Automation would be difficult. Automatic feeding the sleeves to and removing them from a plant would not be reliable.
2,774,187 Smithersxe2x80x94Package for cut flowers with water containing foam receiving cut end of flower
3,271,922 Wallersteinxe2x80x94A circular, paper band for wrapping flowers during shipment
3,376,666 Leonardxe2x80x94A truncated conical sleeve of soft, resilient plastic
3,508,372 Wallersteinxe2x80x94Flexible paper sheet wrap for cut flowers
5,060,417 Courtxe2x80x94Split, tubular device for supporting the head of cut flowers
5,293,713 Ahmedxe2x80x94Split, tubular device to prevent stem from drooping
5,381,642 Weder et al.xe2x80x94Conical plastic film wrapping of floral arrangement
5,501,060 Weder et al.xe2x80x94Conical plastic film wrapping of floral arrangement
5,687,502 Wederxe2x80x94Protective plastic film wrapper adhesively connected to vase
5,765,305 Shawxe2x80x94Cover bud with elastic netting to increase size of rosehead
The only patent disclosing wrapping a bud on an uncut flower before blooming is Shaw. The remaining patents all relate to wrapping cut flowers. Court and Ahmed disclose a split tubular wrapper for supporting the head of cut flowers. There are no apertures for bud growth and it used on cut, not pre-cut flowers growing on a stem.
The present invention provides a bud wrapper readily adaptable to automation and to an apparatus for installing the wrapper on a pre-cut bud. The installation apparatus automatically places the bud wrapper on the bud without the need to handle the wrapper. The next wrapper automatically feeds into the installation position. The apparatus expands the wrapper in amount sufficient to clear the outside of the pre-flowering head while positioned above it. The expanded wrapper is lowered around the head and is released onto the head. The wrapper contracts around the head applying pressure around the circumference of the head inhibiting the head from blossoming while the wrapper is present. The next wrapper feeds into the installation position during installation of the prior wrapper.
The wrapper remains on the bud through growth, harvest, shipment and delivery to the retailers. It need not be removed until delivery to the ultimate consumer.